Falling into the Past
by Atrayis
Summary: To stop the end of time, Lightning became a Warrior of Valhalla to save the world that her loved ones live in. In the process, she inadvertently lost her only chance to love. Will Cloud be able to tempt fate and find his way into a steeled heart? CloudxLightning This is in FF13-2 Timeline
1. Chapter 1

~~~~~Lightning Point of View~~~~~

"When reaching for the future we sometimes fall into the past. As we gaze upon events that cannot be changed, our hearts grow bitter with regret…" With a sigh, I cut off my thoughts and ripped my eyes away from the sight of the barren expanse of Valhalla before me. The realm between the living and the dead was reflective of my memories to the point that the sight was both disgusting and hypnotic. The breeze that swept through the room was chilling yet it was not enough to break me away from my feelings for the past.

As far as the eyes can see was nothing but a dying wasteland and decaying buildings. It has been all I've been able to see for a very long time. It's all I was able to witness as I have been able to do nothing but reflect on my past and the people in it. How foolish I was. How ignorant and self-centered I had been.

Catching myself, I shook my head lightly in attempt to shake the thoughts. This is stupid. Why was I filling my mind with regret all of a sudden? I am a warrior of Valhalla, chosen by the Goddess Etro to protect this land for eternity. I have no time to waste on these thoughts… thoughts that won't even matter.

I shifted myself away from the glassless window and focused my attention to the object in the center of the room: Etro's throne. The incandescent crystal seat was the only picture of color here as I was the only picture of life. It was ironic really.

As I waited the time I would be needed for battle again, I simply kneeled before the throne as my new armor clattered at this movement. It just seemed proper that I do this, even if it was unnecessary. Slowly, my vision blurred and I slowly shut my eyes, allowing myself to witness the full flow of the timeline. All the pictures and motions before me was always a staggering to see, but there was only one that I was currently interested in witnessing.

Serah… how will you deal with our past in your quest to change the future? I am curious to see where your journey takes you now…

~~~~~Cloud Point of View~~~~~

Another day, another delivery to be made. It has been the same old thing every day of my life as I ride through the lands of Gaia making deliveries for enough money to sustain myself. Ever since Sephiroth had been defeated and the Geostigma had been cured thanks to Aerith, my life had been rather uneventful.

Not that I'm complaining or anything… it's just a strange feeling I guess.

The more time I had to myself to think, the more I find myself thinking back on my past…. My real past. My time when I was a kid in Nibelheim was the most prominent thing that came to my mind actually. I'm not even entirely sure why that is. My childhood was never really a happy one. Maybe it was because it was the only part of my memory that was really my own and not me living as someone else.

I remember that when I was a kid, I promised myself that I would become a SOLDIER to protect the things that were important to me. Some plan that turned out to be. Not only did I fail in that respect, I became a delivery boy of sorts. I found myself smirking at that thought. Even if that was the case, I have no regrets. I gained the strength and power I need to protect those that were dear to me and I have a job where I can spend time traveling the world searching for… her.

Her again… She keeps popping up in my thoughts lately. I'm not even entirely sure why. That girl from my past that I vaguely remember keeps surfacing. I only met her once but… I have to admit this to myself eventually I guess… I'm in love with her. Yes. I am in love with her. That strawberry blond hair and that ever prevalent nonchalant look she always wore in the short time I knew her. That and her protectiveness towards her kid sister was strangely reminiscent and a trait I found attractive in her.

Claire Farron… just where have you gone?

Ever since that day in the mountains where I met you for the first and last time for a very long time, I won't lie to myself and I'll admit that I had been keeping her in my mind ever since that faithful day. Oh god, listen to me. I sound so corny.

"Tsk, it's a good thing no one could hear me," I found myself whispering to no one as I revved the engine of Fenrir louder so I could speed up and drown out those thoughts from my mind. What was with me lately? Thinking on my past, confessing my love to a girl who is probably already dead, talking to myself? Geez, I just need some rest. Yeah that's it. Knowing Tifa, she probably already has the bed set up for me to just crash in.

Since my latest delivery didn't take me too far from home, it didn't take me long to get back to the Edge. As I rode on the path towards 7th Heaven, something caught my eye. A large statue thing in the shape of a… rain drop I guess… had been placed down the road from the bar. I found it strange that something like that had been built so quickly without notice or significant purpose but I simply ignored it. It wasn't in my way so I didn't really care.

Before I knew it, I had already arrived at 7th Heaven otherwise known as our home. Parking Fenrir in his usual spot, I walked over to the entrance. Initially all of my focus was on the staircase at the back leading me to my slumber and ignoring the other patrons of the bar. Tifa had seen me walk in and could only afford me a wave as she was currently tending some customers I had never seen before. I was going to ignore her and pretend to have not seen her but something had caught my eye as I was gazing over the scenery.

Strawberry blond hair.

My eyes widened in surprise and realization. It was her. It had to be. That hair color is rare here and it couldn't be just coincidence that she just happened to have shown up as I was thinking about her. Suddenly all the weariness I felt had just dissipated as I pushed my way through the other people there towards where Tifa stood and instinctively grabbed onto girl's slender arm.

"Claire!" I almost yelled. The girl that turned to me first looked at me in fear and then was wide eyed like me in what I guess was shock. At that point, when I saw the girl's face, I realized it wasn't Claire. Her look was too innocent and her body language was… what was the word… demurred. Guess that was a good enough word for it. Plus her clothing… it just didn't suit my image of Claire. I guess she could have changed when she got older but that just didn't seem likely.

I didn't really notice the man that was standing with her up until now who had now just pointed his strange looking weapon towards me. I could only afford a half amused glace towards him as most of my attention was still attached to the girl.

"Noel wait! It's okay," the girl had said quickly to calm her friend down. The male seemed as if he was about to protest but the girl had simply redirected her attention and gaze towards me, not willing to listen to his complaints. "You… are you… Cloud?"


	2. Chapter 2

~~~~~Cloud Point of View~~~~~

She…. Knew my name. I was stunned. I let go of her arm and nodded my head slightly, realizing my fault. If this wasn't Claire… then could it be?

"Serah? Is that you?" I received a nod in response. I couldn't begin to describe my elation at this. I thought I would never see any of the Farron sisters again and here I was standing with one of them. If Serah was here, that meant Claire wasn't far behind right?

Before I could say anything more, Serah started speaking again. "It's nice to see you again Cloud. You look good." Yeah, you should have seen me a month ago when Sephiroth was still plaguing my mind. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Is it bad that I had only now noticed that the male had lowered his weapons away from me? As he sheathed his sword into the… other sword, I didn't fail to notice the intense stare he was giving me. It was a stare that just radiated distrust. Since Serah had just said it, I gathered his name to be Noel and that he was her friend. Anything more would be none of my business.

Tifa had tried to interject between me and this Noel character but had failed to gain any degree of my attention until this point. When I began to regain my attention to the rest of the world, I loosely heard the words "Hey" and "No Fighting" which I assume was from her. I did catch a "You know these people?" from her to which I nodded slightly.

"Hey Serah, who is this guy?" Noel began to question cautiously to Serah in almost a whisper after Tifa spoke. I probably wouldn't have heard it if my hearing wasn't enhanced from the Mako infusion I… underwent.

Seeing as how Tifa was getting frantic and the customers were starting to draw their attention towards us, I decided to lead the two towards a more private room so we could talk. I began walking up the stairs as I had aimed to do when I first walked in and motioned for the others to follow. Since it was still early, I figured that Denzel and Marlene had already gone off to school and wouldn't be around to overhear our conversation. I had led them to my room and as expected, the bed was prepared for me to sleep in. However, sleep was not appealing to me anymore with this new development.

~~~~~Serah Point of View~~~~~

Who would have thought that I would run into Cloud in a place like this while traveling through time? I actually never expected to ever see him again and he was so grown up now. I mean, I've grown up too since the last he saw me but… I barely even recognized him! If it wasn't for his unique hairstyle I probably would have…. I don't know. Yet he recognized me… well not entirely but Lightning is my sister. It should have been expected that he wouldn't completely recognize me.

I had followed Cloud when he motioned for us to come upstairs with him. Noel obviously didn't trust him all that much. I had to talk him down repeatedly since Cloud was a dear friend of both me and Lightning. I trusted him, that's all that matters right?

"Serah, what's going on?" I heard Noel question softly as he followed closely behind me. I knew I had to give him answers. I couldn't just leave him in the dark about all this though the whole situation was hard to explain in general. Then again, what part of my situation wasn't hard to explain?

Finally thinking of something Noel would accept, I glanced over my shoulder at him and began my explanation. "He's an old friend of me and Lightning's. When he said Claire, he was referring to Lightning." I knew Lightning wasn't going to be happy about me telling Noel her real name, but technically I wasn't the one who told him right? Noel seemed to accept this and relaxed a bit, yet he was still hesitant to completely agree to anything. That left me to think about the developments up to this point.

To be honest, I was startled at the fact that he called Lightning by her real name more than when he had grabbed me. It had been awhile since I heard it, or even said it, so it was almost foreign to me. Lightning had always insisted in calling herself Lightning after our parents died but she never really explained why. At least not to me she hasn't. It would be hard to explain that to Cloud… among other things.

"What brings you two to Edge?" Cloud had finally said as we arrived in what appeared to be a bedroom. Cloud had taken a seat on the bed yet seemed far from allowing himself to relax. Noel had taken the liberty of leaning against the doorframe as Cloud motioned over to a chair by the desk to allow me a seat.

I sat down and allowed myself to process what he had just said. So we were at the Edge or he said. So we were on Cocoon before it had fallen and probably before the whole Purge happened. I would have liked to have believed that but this place seemed much different from the Hanging Edge I knew of. But I didn't want to question him on it and on top of that, I wasn't sure if I should tell him about our time traveling situation at all.

Before I had a chance to say anything though, Noel had decided to provide an answer for him. "We're looking for an item that doesn't belong in this world," he stated as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Cloud didn't seem fazed as he kept the same facial expression on his face as he looked over to Noel. His stoic look all the time almost matched Lightning's. It was uncanny. Cloud then looked over to me and I then nodded in affirmation. Cloud sighed as he looked distant for a moment before his attention seemed to return. "So you aren't staying for long?"

"Not particularly," Noel replied. It was like these two were in a mental fight that I couldn't see. I wanted the tension between them to be toned down but it wasn't like they were actively hostile so I couldn't scold them. With a frustrated sigh, I watched as Cloud took a deep breath as he began to stare into my eyes with his bright blues. The pain in his eyes was largely apparent and I felt sorry for him but I had wondered why he looked at me like that.

"Then where is Claire? She is with you right?" He had begun saying, his hands that had been held together in front of him now slightly trembling. Slowly things were beginning to get pieced together and lined into place. Cloud had been looking for Lightning all this time. Probably me too but it was Lightning he had his mind set on. I don't really remember what happened between us three when we met since I was just a little girl, but I do know that Lightning told me to never speak of him after some incident. Was Cloud looking for us after all this time?

It hurt me to have to lie to him but even more so to tell him the truth. Lightning wasn't with me. In fact, Lightning wasn't even in this world. She was in Valhalla, protecting us. How was I supposed to tell that to someone that wanted to see her so much? "Cloud… I" I couldn't help but look down, breaking eye contact with him. What was I to do in this situation? What would Lightning do? Then it hit me.

That was it. I was going to tell him the truth about everything. Why we are here, the journey me and Noel were on, all of it. With renewed confidence, I looked back up to Cloud and spoke softly. "Light- Claire isn't with us. I'm on a journey to find her and bring her back home. That's why me and Noel need to find this artifact," I glanced over at Noel before turning back to Cloud and continued. "Noel says that she's in Valhalla and we've been traveling through these time gates to fix distortions in time so she wouldn't have to fight anymore."

As Cloud sat there, he just kept staring at me with that same stern looking face. I wasn't sure if he believed me or not but by how fast he had gotten up after my speech, he seemed convinced.

~~~~~Cloud Point of View~~~~~

Well, that was a lot to take in. I've experienced some crazy things so this wasn't so much out of the ordinary for me. Still, I was sure there was more to the story then that but what I needed to know had already been said. Claire is alive but she wasn't with Serah. She was stuck in a place called Valhalla and if myths were anything to be believed in, that meant she was in the realm between the living and the dead. Serah was on a mission with this other guy to save her.

If that was the case then I was determined to go too.

"Then I'm going with you," I announced. I had gained the power I had to protect those that were dear to me. My thoughts flashed back to when I had first had the idea to become a SOLDIER and the promise I made to myself. I was not going to break that promise.

Noel seemed unamused by these turn of events and Serah… well I don't know. It seemed like a mix between worried and ecstatic. That made it clear that these two were definitely not around for much then. I guess that was a good thing since that meant they weren't wrapped up in the whole geostigma incident. Whatever, so they were looking for an artifact that doesn't belong huh?

Immediately I reached into my pocket and dialed a few numbers. Of course I had to ignore the few missed calls from other people. This was more important. I knew an expert at things that didn't belong so I wasn't worried about this at all.

"Yeah it's me. I need a favor…"


	3. Chapter 3

~~~~~Cloud Point of View~~~~~

It had taken awhile and a good bit of note comparing for both of us to get up to speed. They were time travelers from the, I guess future, here because of something called the Historia Crux like the one down the road. I'm just going to call them Time Gates. Noel seemed insistent that I wasn't able to go since I had no connection with Etro or have any affinity for Chaos. I wanted to tell him that I had seen and experienced enough chaos in my lifetime than most people ever would, but I kept quiet and simply ignored his warnings.

In compensation I had told them of my battle credentials as to convince them to let me go with them. Past mercenary, Hero of Midgar, SOLDIER experience, all the works. I also told them that they were on the planet Gaia and that I had never heard of this Cocoon or Pulse they kept talking about. Since we had no idea if they were in the past or the future, we decide that it didn't matter as long as we could find this artifact they needed and fix what they called a paradox.

After all that, I was left with the thoughts of my past with the Farrons and how I would have been able to meet them considering the time difference. Serah suggested that maybe her and Claire had traveled through a time gate when they were little and appeared towards my time without knowing it. Though I still had my doubts, I pretended to accept that theory so we could move on to other pressing matters.

Serah had also taken care to explain to me that Claire had changed her name to Lightning for some unknown reason after her parents died, though it seemed like a strange time to change her name. Maybe somewhere in the back of my mind I had hoped that the relation between her picking the name Lightning had something to do with my own name Cloud… maybe like some deep symbolic feelings or remembrance.

Uh anyway, aside from that, Noel and Serah didn't know each other long either. Noel was saved by Claire in Valhalla somehow but doesn't even remember how he had gotten there in the first place. He was tasked to find Serah and bring her to Valhalla. In his future, the world is apparently dying and my thoughts had directly been focused on how that used to seem like Gaia's future at some point. I shoved those thoughts aside though. Serah was told that she had to fix this timeline or something so she could save and be with her sister again.

All this time talk was confusing.

By now I had told the two time travelers to rest at the bar with Tifa as I prepared my things. I knew the routine by now though so it didn't take me long to get ready. A few change of clothes and my sword. As I fastened the last belt on my outfit something had hit me and sighed as I realized the repercussions to what I was doing. I'd be leaving Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel alone again. Tifa would be disappointed. How many times was I going to leave her for my own selfish reasons?

But I guess it couldn't be helped.

Tifa was currently okay. Claire needed my help. I needed to go to her and help her.

At least… that's how I justified it to myself.

I decided to push those thoughts away for now as I exited into the hallway. I wouldn't allow myself to be consumed by those thoughts now and second guess myself. I made up my mind. As I walked downstairs to check up on the duo and inform Tifa of my decision, I had heard this strange cheery noise and a few giggles. I instantly recognized the giggles to have come from Marlene, which made me glance over at the time and realize that it was about the time for the kids to have come back from school. I was glad that I could at least let them all know at the same time and as soon as possible.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, all eyes had turned to me. It was hard not to notice Tifa's saddened look in her eyes as I guess she realized what I was planning. I tried my best to ignore it as I approached the group with the Mog toy that was hovering around the kids. It just kept saying "Kupo!" while floating just out of the kids' reach. I didn't really realize how realistic and high tech the toys around here are getting.

As I approached the group, I had opened my mouth to make the announcement until we had heard the door open. Instantly I swirled around to face the door only to see a friendly face that I was expecting. The kids that had been previously playing with the toy Mog had now run up to the new figure, Marlene being the one to attach onto his leg and shout out "Vincent!"

While the red cape clad male didn't seem caught off guard by this, he did seem slightly agitated by the act if only briefly. Denzel was wise enough only to greet Vincent cautiously and Vincent seemed to respect that about him. Tifa was more surprised to see him though since Vincent rarely showed up around without a reason. Serah and Noel's reaction to Vincent's appearance was pretty predictable though, Serah just eyeing him cautiously while Noel seemed inches away from drawing his sword.

Vincent had turned his attention over to Serah and Noel and took his time examining them, looking them a few times over before turning towards me. "I think you already have quite a few things that do not belong in our time Cloud," Was the first thing he said to me. I chuckled dryly at this before nodding as he moved towards one of the bar stools.

"Kupo kupo?" I had noticed the Mog mumble softly as it began approaching Vincent in a curious manner. At this I raised an eyebrow. Where did this Mog toy even come from anyway? Most of the time I never really paid attention to stuff like this. I could only assume that Tifa had bought it for the kids lately but that seemed a bit out of our budget range.

"What's up Mog?" Serah finally said as turned her attention to the Mog toy. At that point, I should have known that this Mog wasn't a toy, but maybe I just wasn't thinking straight because I was still tired.

"This man has something kupo!" the thing said before making a nodding motion with his head. Vincent had yet to seem fazed by any of this. Actually, now that I was paying attention, no one else seemed fazed by this. Geez, guess I was the only one left out of the loop. "It's probably the key to another gate here Kupo!"

I sure had to admire how fast Vincent was able to work. I knew by Serah and Noel's reactions to that Mog's words that Vincent had succeeded in his short quest. Vincent's facial expressions were always hard to read but he seemed interested at what the Mog had to say too. Pushing his red cape out of the way, Vincent produced this strange item that he quickly handed over to me.

I took a moment to examine this so called artifact and I had to admit that it was definitely did not belong in our time. It was what appeared to be a goblet of some kind made of stone and decorated with strange designs along with an engraving on the rim. "Thanks."

Vincent didn't respond to me and instead took this as his cue to leave. Instead of trying to stop him I turned to Tifa as I put away the artifact in an attempt to explain to her, but she simply held her hand up with her palm towards me as to tell me to stop. "I already know. You're leaving aren't you?"

I pursed my lips but I nodded. She regained the sad look in her eyes again but I could tell that she tried her best to hide it from me. "Alright… I'll take care of the kids but you have to promise me you'll come back, okay?" Again I could only nod. I knew that this could be a promise I couldn't keep however. I didn't know how time travel worked and for all I knew, I might never come back to this time period. Nevertheless she seemed to accept this as she smiled at me warmly before turning towards Serah to talk to her once more. I had no idea what they were talking about but I took this opportunity to go over and tell the kids.

At this point I had managed to gather Marlene and Denzel together and tell them that I'd be going away for awhile. Marlene looked rather upset but seemed to understand. She kept telling me to "Never give up" as if she knew what I had been planning to do. The insight that she had was remarkable. Denzel tried to hide his sadness but I could easily see through him. I told him that he'd be the man of the house now and that he had the duty of protecting both Tifa and Marlene from danger in which he agreed to do with a renewed vigor in his eyes. I smirked at how much Denzel was starting to take after me.

I knew there were a few other people I should have said goodbye to but I didn't want to keep Serah and Noel waiting. After saying goodbye to the kids, I approached the duo and they looked back over to me as I stood close to them. Noel still had this look of caution on his face but I simply ignored it. I had a lot of practice at that after all. "We should go find that gate right?"

Serah wanted to say something but Noel had stopped her when he abruptly got up and headed for the door. Following quickly, Serah jumped up and followed but not without saying her thanks to Tifa for everything. I had followed suit and walked towards the door as well, my mind trying to focus themselves on my new travels ahead instead of what I was leaving behind.


	4. Chapter 4

~~~~~Serah Point of View~~~~~

I don't get it. Cloud was dropping everything to be able to go with us in search for Lightning but Noel kept being so hostile towards him. He kept saying stuff like "It won't work" and "Cloud can't travel through the Historia Crux with us" as if he was so sure of it. I mean, I understood where he was coming from, but… well I guess he didn't have to be so mean about it. Even when we were at the bar with Tifa while Cloud was getting ready, Noel was assuring her that he'd be back and things would be okay when Tifa was confiding in us about Cloud leaving. Apparently this wasn't the first time Cloud had left for his own reasons.

Tifa looked so sad when we came back downstairs after our talk with Cloud. The bar had been mostly cleared out too. She tried to hide it behind a smile but I could tell she was faking. This was even more apparent when Marlene and Denzel came back after playing with Mog at school. Mog liked the attention and decided to go with them before Cloud had come back, leaving me and Noel to just find information about our time period. When they came back, I couldn't help but look over to Tifa sadly as if I was taking away something important to her as she went over to greet the children.

Noel had admitted to me at that point that Cloud had reminded him of my fiancée Snow. He said something about him throwing everything away for his own selfish reasons, apparently not "giving a damn about the consequences." While I didn't think that was entirely true, Noel did have a point.

I won't deny that I was hesitant to let Cloud come with us on our journey too but he seemed too determined for me to even try to stop him. Even if he isn't able to travel with us, he still had a life to return to. I technically did too but it just wasn't the same without Lightning. I don't know why Cloud was doing this aside from the fact that he wanted to see Lightning again, but hopefully he'd understand once we got to the gate. If he is able to travel with us by some twist of fate, then at least he said his goodbyes.

Right now we were on Cloud's bike, me sitting behind him with my arms around his waist to keep myself from falling. There was a side seat that Cloud attached to his motorcycle before we left so that Noel could ride too and not feel awkward. As we were riding around looking for the gate, Cloud mentioned that the motorcycle was named Fenrir but I didn't really get what he was talking about. I couldn't help but get the feeling that he was disappointed in that and it made me feel bad for not understanding. I tried to ask him about it after that but I think Cloud was too immersed in his own thoughts to have heard me.

As I was shuffling through my thoughts, I had barely managed to hear Cloud ask me something. When I asked him to repeat it, he did. "What's the story with that Mog?" It was then I had glanced back over to where Mog was, floating closely behind us while happily cheering the words Kupo.

"Oh, he's my good luck charm. Lightning gave him to me." I could tell that Cloud was still getting used to people calling my sister Lightning instead of the name he had grown up knowing. I know it had taken me awhile to.

Cloud seemed to accept this answer, even though I'm pretty sure that wasn't what he meant when he asked. At a certain point during out trip, Mog had suddenly stopped following us and went his own direction about sixty degrees away from the path we were taking. Noel, seeming to have been lost in thought, had now sat up and directed his attention at the wandering moogle. I understood what Mog's wandering off like that meant too, but Noel was the one to speak first.

"Follow Mog!" Noel ordered suddenly as he rose slightly in his seat. This seemed to have caught Cloud off guard as I could feel his muscles of his back tense up momentarily. He did however ease up and nod before he revved his engine louder; causing me to hold onto him tighter for what I thought was dear life as he skidded away from our current path to follow Mog. After a few swerves and crazy turns among the rocky path, it wasn't long until we saw the gate we were looking for.

Noel was the first one to hop off the motorcycle, though seemed relatively unharmed and actually pleased after those stunts. Cloud had waited until I had let go of him before getting off, checking to see if I was alright. Course, I wasn't but I pretended to be perfectly fine regardless. I was getting good at that lately to the point that Noel stopped realizing how much pain I was in every time we fixed a paradox. This faintness was nothing like that pain though and for the moment I had questioned if it was worse. I had then realized that Cloud was suspicious so I moved away from him before he could have a chance to question me further.

My eyes then fell upon the familiar sight of the Gate that allowed us to travel into a different time. Well, the moment of truth was here. "Cloud, hold up the artifact to the gate," I instructed as I turned to him eagerly. Cloud nodded wordlessly as he pulled out the artifact and rose it up in front of the gate. The waves of time could almost be felt shifting as the Historia Crux was opening, allowing us to move on to our next destination. I was so excited that I was one step closer to finding Lighting that I had completely forgotten about my queasiness earlier.

"Kupo!" Mog had said excitedly as the gate fully opened, circling around Cloud happily before he took his place at my side. Cloud didn't seem to understand though.

"Is that it?" I heard Cloud wonder as he stared at the gate with that same solidified look. I swear between Lighting, Cloud, and that Vincent guy, people were getting much too serious and stone faced lately. Noel was the one that replied though.

"Yeah, but as I said I doubt you'll be able to go through. I told you before, only those with an affinity for chaos can travel through the timeline," Noel seemed to lecture. I bit my lip, trying my best not to say anything until Cloud had actually tried to activate the gate.

Cloud didn't seem to hear him or something because he immediately reached forward towards the gate. In a flash, the small area was absorbed in a bright light that was associated with a gate being activated and allowing entry into the timeline. I was in awe. So Cloud was able to move through the timeline too? Mog didn't seem surprised whatsoever and just chanted "Kupo" happily as he bobbed up and down excitedly.

Cloud seemed to have a smug look on his face and looked on towards Noel, which was a nice change to his usual stoic look all the time. I followed Cloud's gaze to Noel who currently had his jaw dropped. I could hear him whispering under his breathe though, saying "What the hell is going on?"

Knowing he had no choice now but to accept his company with us on our journey, Cloud went to his bike and took out this ridiculously large sword from one of the compartments. I'm not entirely sure which I should be more surprised at: the fact that he is able to use the Historia Crux or the fact that he can lift such a huge sword with only one hand.

"Let's go," Cloud stated as he fastened the sword on his back, breaking me out of my thoughts as he went through the gate. Noel, having regained some composure, groaned a bit and leapt in after him in which Mog was quick to follow. Seeing as how I didn't want to be left behind, I jumped in as well, curious as to what lies ahead.

~~~~~Lightning Point of View~~~~~

"Serah… what have you done," I breathed as I awakened from my trance, my lungs struggling to keep up with the beating of my racing heart. I had placed my hand over my chest in a feeble attempt to calm my heart rate only to feel the divide of my chestplate stopping it from having any real effect. I had just watched as Serah had met Cloud again and dragged him onto this path with her for the only reason being to save me. I could do nothing but watch.

My powers are limited while I am in Valhalla and it pained me that I could not intervene in this. As a Warrior of Valhalla, I had no future as time does not exist in this place. What Cloud was fighting for, searching for, wishing for, was only a lost cause. I closed my eyes again but this time so I could process my own thoughts in solitude. Everything he had done had been in hopes of finding me and for what? Love?

I took and deep breathe as I rose to my feet again with the solemn expression returning to my face. What could I do? Crush the man's dreams? I could do that in more ways than one but what effect would that even have? I didn't want to hurt him, but I didn't want him to waste his life pursuing a lost cause when he could live a normal life. After all, until Serah had spoken to him, he had been done with the life threatening journeys and was supposed to live a happy life with his new family… A family that didn't involve me. This was one of the few times that I had actually felt uncertain about something and showed a face of hesitation.

I looked over to Etro's Throne reflexively as I continued my thoughts and there I had seen another person appearing from behind the crystal seat. His silver hair and his glowing green eyes had made him easy to recognize and reminded me of Hope, but I had known better than to trust this man. I had seen his history in the timeline. Sephiroth, the man that had betrayed his nation and tormented Cloud for sport, had now stood before me.

"Warrior of Valhalla, Lightning. Our time for action is soon approaching once again," Sephiroth stated to me as he kneeled before me as I had just done towards the throne. I knew what that had meant. Caius Ballad, the one hell bent on bringing Chaos into the realm of the living for his own selfish reasons, was on the move again. Again must I enter battle to defend this realm and the Goddess Etro from his attack so I may protect the future and provide it some hope for the better.

Despite my instincts not to trust Sephiroth, he has countlessly proven himself a valuable ally to me. Though there is no death in this land, he has saved me from defeat more than once at the hands of Caius. After I had confronted him about his past when he had first approached me offering his aid, he had easily provided a response for me.

He had claimed to me that thoughts of his mother do not plague his mind any longer and his judgment is his own again, wishing to help me defend the balance of chaos in this realm to atone for his sins against humanity. Though he said that, I had my doubts. Even now after he has defended me and fought with me in combat, I still have a taste of doubt towards him. However, as long as he continues to assist me, I could only reluctantly accept his help.

I did not verbally respond to him yet as my mind was still lingering on the thoughts of what to do about the situation with Serah and Cloud. Knowing that I could deal with that later after I had done my duty, I flicked my wrist to summon my Blazefire Saber in a flurry of white feathers before brushing past Sephiroth to prepare for combat.

At least I wouldn't have to think about this while I'm fighting.


	5. Chapter 5

~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~

The middle of the afternoon was upon me as I stood alone at the overhang of one of the many cliffs on the mountains. The cool breeze that was common of such a location had just come and gone as I looked down at the village below. From where I stood, it seemed so small compared to what I knew of it.

Then it hit me… Why was I here?

I took a step back to prevent myself from accidentally falling off the cliff as I tried to remember. Everything was all hazy though.

Oh I remember…

Tifa had fallen off this cliff yesterday and had gotten hurt because of me. I didn't have enough strength to protect or save her from the fall. In the end, everyone in the village had blamed me for the incident. "You should have been able to save her!" or "This is all your fault!"

They were probably right.

I was here to sulk in that memory of Tifa falling and hurting herself. Feel remorse about it all. To repent for my powerlessness by remembering the pain I had because of it. I don't remember how long I had been standing here but I knew it was probably since the morning. That was the only time I was able to sneak away from the village into the mountains since the adults had put closer watch to the mountains since Tifa's incident.

Suddenly I heard a howl close by and it almost felt like my heart dropped out of place. I knew how dangerous the adults said the mountains were but I didn't imagine wolves to be here! I don't know if I had simply started to panic or if I had just lost it but I felt my legs start running, moving my body away from where they perceived the sound to be.

To my surprise, it didn't take long for me to be intercepted by a silver maned wolf that had run into my path. I immediately had stopped but before I could even try to hide or defend myself, I had noticed this girl following the wolf's trail. I had never seen this girl in the village before, that pink hair would have made it hard for her not to be noticed at least once. I think I dropped my guard when I saw her running after that wolf. Once she laid eyes on me, she had stopped in her tracks and started at me with pale blue eyes that were filled with a small innocence.

As I was wondering where this girl had come from, I suddenly felt this fuzziness at the back of my palm. To my surprise, I had completely forgotten about the wolf after I saw the girl who had currently donned a pouting face. When I looked down to my hand, I was astonished that the wolf had actually begun to nuzzle my hand gently in a docile manner. I wasn't going to complain about the wolf liking me rather than eating me but I did wonder what was going on.

"Serah! Stop runni-" I heard a new feminine voice suddenly getting cut off and the subsequent yet familiar sound of crumbling rocks and the grinding of dirt. Instantly I had known this new person had fallen from some incline before the girl before me even had a chance to look behind her. Actually, I had known way before I had even heard the new girl scream in pain, my body moving instantly towards where I had heard the sound.

"Agh!"

Instantly after that, my body jolted awake as I felt my upper body fly up until I was in a sitting position. My eyelids flicked open only to find the thick darkness as my hand instinctively reached for my heart. I could feel it in my body that my heart was racing in panic as my eyes raced around the darkness around me, only finding a bit of comfort in the campfire in front of me. It took me a few moments to regain my composure after that, finding that taking deep breaths and the slight crackling of the fire helped, before I was able to think again. That dream, it had all been a dream.

Or was it?

I parted my right hand from my heart and looked down into the palm, noticing that I had been trembling since I had gotten up. I remembered that sequence of events but not as vividly as I had just seen. When I heard her fall, I felt more terror than I had back then when it had actually happened.

Squeezing my eyes together, I tried to push away the anxiety I had felt as well as taking out some of it by clenching my hands into fists tightly. It took me a minute to remember my current situation and whereabouts though, quickly opening my eyes again as I looked around the campfire for my allies.

Serah had already fallen asleep with the now conveniently named Mog curling up beside her head. That gave me some comfort to know that she was safe and sound asleep. She was stronger than I had anticipated her to be. Then my thoughts fell onto the other one.

"Why are you up?" I heard the sharp words from my left side among the snapping sounds of the flames. My eyes glanced over to his direction but I didn't turn to face him yet. "You better not be planning any funny business."

I couldn't tell him the truth in that I had a nightmare like I was some kid. Instead, I thought of an alternate excuse that would at least make him more trusting of me. It wouldn't do me well to keep him suspicious of me, especially for Serah's sake. "I'm not. I just thought I could take watch while you rest since I'm guessing you've been taking watch all the time when you were with Serah."

"I take watch when I need to. We aren't always camping out like this," Noel explained offhandedly as he put down his weapon to sit next to me. I still got the vibe that he didn't trust me, but I pretended to be oblivious to it. We never really spoke after that, just this awkward but mutual silence as we watched the flames of the fire die down before us.

Since I said I wanted to take watch, I didn't want to awkwardly say I'm going back to sleep and let him stay up. At the same time, he didn't seem interested in letting me take over or any signs of fatigue to allow sleep to ease in on him. Neither of us were getting anywhere but I guess we were fine playing the waiting game.

"How do you know Lightning and Serah?" I had heard the familiar voice question me as I glanced over to Noel's interrogative eyes. I couldn't help but sigh as I heard the question. I wasn't sure what to tell him. I met them as kids and I've been looking for them ever since? It was personal and I didn't feel like sharing that information yet in detail. I wouldn't be able to completely blow him off though. I knew that much already. So swallowing my personal pride, I spoke.

"We met a few years ago…" Yeah I just left it at that, turning my sight back towards the fire as I leaned back my elbows.

I could hear Noel sighing at my response. "Ooookay then…" he muttered softly while dropping the subject, seeming to have picked up the vibe that I didn't want to talk. Since I didn't want him to have any further hate towards me for Serah's sake and for my own reasons, I decided to ask my own question.

"Are you and Serah… together?" I asked this for my own sake. I didn't want to feel like the third wheel here if I could so much as help it. I mean, I could go off on my own while they did their thing or something.

Didn't really notice till now that Noel looked entirely frightened at the prospect. He was quick to look away from me when I had noticed and blurted out quickly, "N-no! We're nothing like that!" In which I was relieved to hear. Noel did continue though without my prompting, supplying that "I owe it to Lightning to protect her."

I'm still getting use to the name Lightning but by this time I had managed to associate that name and Claire together without the momentary hesitation that I used to. But the way that they spoke about Lightning was… well it was like she was a strong person. I mean, I always imagined she would become strong ever since I met her. Yet it never occurred to me that she would be so respected…

"I see…" I was left to think about this for a while. There was no doubt that Lightning was strong, she was a Warrior of Valhalla chosen by a goddess after all. But that led me to wonder, why her? Not that I doubted her strength… but why not me? I would have gladly taken Lightning's place if it saved Lightning from her fate so she could live happily with her sister. Serah seemed so desperate to get her back and the fact that Lightning had sent Noel to protect her meant that her protective trait was still there within her. It just… she couldn't see her or something had to have been stopping her.

I barely caught myself drifting off to sleep again and had to push myself off my elbows to keep myself awake. That seemed to grab Noel's attention as he looked back towards me as I made my sudden movements, but that attention dissipated as soon as it came. But then, something unexpected happened.

"Mmm" we had both heard Serah moaning softly in her sleep, ever so lightly shifting around on the ground she rested on. I looked back to Noel as if to question if she had done this often but received no answer, only seeing him looking on with the same curious expression as mine. As my gaze moved back to Serah, I had barely heard her say something that made my eyes widen exponentially.

"… Lightning?"


	6. Chapter 6

~~~~~~~~ Lightning POV ~~~~~~~~~~

"Serah, listen to me. You need to send Cloud back home. Back to his time," I spoke calmly but my serious demeanor had yet to change when talking to my sister. My form had been a great distance from her own to prevent her from attempting to reach out to me. I recognized Serah's hairstyle even from the distance where I had been standing from her, and I assume was also the case for her when she turned to me.

"Lightning!" she cried out in joy. It pained me but I did not respond back. I stood perfectly still, my right arm bent in a way that allowed my hand to rest at my hips as my left hung by my side. She had tried to run towards me but clearly some unknown force had held her back. I said nothing but I knew that it was simply the constraints of her dreams that prevented her from going further.

Of course, I was only an illusion to her. This was her dream and I had been using one of my many powers to contact her. Since I couldn't leave Valhalla for prolonged periods of time, this was the best I could do. I had done this to ask Snow and Sazh for their help as well, and they had trusted me. I had seen it in the timeline.

I had to do talk to her like this. If I showed myself to her then she would not have as much motivation to fix the timeline. I'm sorry Serah but I have to lie to you. I have to pretend not to hear you so you will continue your journey to me.

"Serah, Cloud is not supposed to leave his time period. You have to send him back," I repeated in the same manner as before. Serah seemed to have gathered that I couldn't hear her in her dream. However it didn't stop her from screaming out at me as if I was going to respond. I really wish I could have but it would have led to more harm than good.

"What! Why? Lightning!" Serah was calling out to me desperately. She was trying to get more information but I couldn't supply her with one. I knew by her reaction that she had wanted to keep Cloud around. She probably wanted to let Cloud see me… but I simply couldn't allow that. I couldn't let his hopes up like that and give him a false future.

I hid my pained expression with my normal neutral exterior as I continued my fake speech to her. "I trust you Serah. I'm sorry I had to tell you like this."

~~~~~~~~ Serah POV ~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry I had to tell you like this."

She was sorry! How was I supposed to react to that? She was telling me right after we let Cloud come with us that he shouldn't leave his timeline and needs to go back? I wanted to yell at her. I wanted to tell her that Cloud had only wanted to see her and help me save her.

But I knew it was no use. I had already established that she couldn't hear me and that I couldn't reach her to get her to stay and talk to me. All I could do was stand there and watch or else the stupid mist would get in my way again. I couldn't help but try one more time though, reaching out my right hand to her figure as she turned away, I yelled out her name… her real one.

"Claire!"

At this point, my eyes shot open only to be ambushed by the bright rays of the sun in the sky. Unconsciously my right hand moved over my eyes in an attempt to shade them of all the light. My memory had suddenly gone hazy as my dream became more blurred the more I came back to reality. There was one thing that I did catch before I had completely been taken out of my dream though.

Lightning looked back after I called her Claire.

Had she really been able to hear me? Was that just a coincidence and my mind just playing tricks on me again? Oh there was just so much going on in my mind right now. First all the visions I've been getting and now this? When will it end?

After I had been completely awoken, I decided to sit up and figure out where we were. I had been so tired after we traveled to this time and walked for so long that I had just sort of collapsed once Cloud suggested we set up camp. It was a good thing that Noel and Cloud didn't mind. I just wasn't used to this stuff the way they were. I had noticed that the fire went out which meant that the other two were probably already asleep. Noel had been sprawled out a few feet away from me, which was new since he was usually up by the time I had woken up in the morning. Then I decided to try and find the guy in question that Lightning told me to shoo off.

"Good, you're awake." There it was. That neutral yet warm sounding voice that came from none other than Cloud. I flung my head around quickly to face him only to see him sitting next to me while leaning on his abnormally large sword that was stuck into the ground behind him. I could still never get over how large that thing was or how Cloud was able to lift it.

"Um, yeah. I guess," I said in a slight rush. I didn't mean to but it did make me sound like I was trying to hide something. I sort of was… but I just don't know what to do at the moment. Who was I to tell Cloud to just go home after what he's been through and how determined he was after I said Lightning was still alive. Maybe I just needed to talk to someone about this. Noel maybe? Yeah, I'll just ask him when he gets-

"You were talking in your sleep last night." I swear my face must have dropped or at least became as white as a sheet when he said that. I tried to hide it obviously, smiling awkwardly towards him like he hadn't hit a pressure point, but I wasn't Lightning. I couldn't hide my expressions as well as she could.

"Oh? Guess I must have had a bad dream," I said that as an excuse but then looked away as I realized how lame that sounded. Bad dream? Like he was going to believe that.

Cloud kept talking though, even after I had turned away. I knew he was suspicious but I could hear curiosity in his voice as well, but only a hint of it. "You were calling for Lightning."

Okay, if my face wasn't pale then, it had to be pale now as I felt all the blood just leave my face at that instant. What was I to say to that? "Yeah sorry, I used to always call for her when I had a bad dream."

He didn't seem to buy my story at all as he kept looking at me with that same look. The more I looked at him, the more I was reminded by Lightning. Their personalities were almost the same and on top of that Cloud is decently attractive.

What? Okay, so what if I had a fiancé? I was still allowed to window shop for Lightning if anything else. They would make such a nice couple…

"What is Cla… Lightning like now?" That question had caught me by surprise. I was half expecting him to dig deeper into my dream. But as I thought about it more and my rationality had started coming back to me, I realized that believing in hidden messages in dreams was beyond crazy. Cloud couldn't have known I was having visions so I guess I had been in the clear and worrying for nothing.

As for the question, Cloud hasn't spoken to either of us since we were little so I guess it'd be natural for him to be curious. I just never thought that all the way through I guess. "Let's see… she's stubborn and overprotective. Plus she's scary sometimes when you get on her bad side," I stated aloud as I thought about it. I tried thinking about it some more but most of what I said covered it. Lightning was always personal when it came to things about her so I thought it was best for Cloud to hear it from me then from her. One other thing did eventually stick out in my mind though. "And she always wants to do things her own way, usually by herself."

I saw Cloud's face twist with that last one but I wasn't sure why. I didn't question him about it since he never questioned why my face had been so flushed out earlier. Guess it was common courtesy. Cloud didn't say or do much after that, seeming to be lost in thought which gave me enough time to move over to Noel and shake him awake.

I didn't know how early it was but since we were at the Yaschas Massif, I knew we had to get moving before the monsters came to attack us. We were in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, but since Noel and I had been here before in a different time we knew how to navigate the valleys of this place.

That and we had a map.

Noel had been very quick to jump up and get ready to move when I woke him. Guess as a hunter he was used to it. Cloud seemed ready too, though his constant thoughtful face had made me worry. It did give me a chance to talk to Noel about my dream though since Cloud had walked on ahead and paid little to no attention to us as he did.

It would decide what we should do before we saw Hope again.


	7. Chapter 7

~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~~

Serah had given me a lot to think about. When she told me how Claire was nowadays, it made me worry for her. The description Serah had given me sounded like how people say I acted all the time, which usually leads me into trouble. Plus that means she would take on everything by herself and not rely on her friends. I had to learn the error of that my own way through the Geostigma incident. I had to wonder if Claire needed to learn that as well.

But I decided to drop that for now. I hadn't met Claire face to face yet so there was no use worrying about it. Once I find her, I can save her so she wouldn't have to carry such a heavy burden.

Oh Etro, she didn't accept being a Warrior of Valhalla to carry the burden of the future on her shoulders did she?

I wasn't sure what I was thinking. All my thoughts were scattered, mainly on Claire and on dream from last night which I still couldn't get out of my head. Out of everything, it couldn't be coincidence to see that dream where I first met them.

"Cloud, can we talk for a second?" I turned around after I heard Serah speak to me. I hadn't noticed how far ahead I had walked in front of Noel and Serah. What I did notice was that Serah had a sad look on her face. Noel's facial expression kept on that confident peeved look but I could tell something was on his mind too.

"Sure. What is it?" I questioned as I crossed my arms over my chest. Serah glanced away for a moment and then back at me when she started.

"Do you have any idea how you went through the gate?" she asked as she looked up eagerly to me, waiting for a response. I didn't know what to say to her. I know Noel kept saying the gate was special but I just did what they asked me to and it worked. If anything, I should be asking her that.

Noel chimed in at this point, "It's sort of important that we know." I glanced over to Noel who just looked at me seriously from beside Serah. I couldn't help but sigh at this yet I still had no idea what to tell them.

Guess the truth couldn't hurt. "I did what you told me. I raised a hand and the gate opened." I couldn't help but notice their expressions as they looked to each other. They seemed like they didn't know what to say or do next, which made me even more curious. "Why are you questioning me like that shouldn't have happened."

"Because it shouldn't have," Noel was rather blunt about it as he faced me again. "In fact, I think you should go back home. You have kids to take care of. You can't go around risking your life without any care of the consequences. What if Tifa gets hurt?"

At that I couldn't help but frown at as my brows furrowed slightly. A hint of frustration leaked into my voice as I responded. "Tifa can take care of herself. If she needs my help then I'll go back to her but Vincent is helping me keep an eye on her and the kids. I don't need you telling me of my responsibilities."

Serah who had been off on the side had suddenly jumped in between us, arms up and face looking serious. I hadn't seen her look like that before so I instantly calmed down, but it didn't stop what was coming next. The yelling. "Enough! Stop this right now! I'm tired of just hearing arguing from the both of you."

"I'm not going back until I save Lightning. No one but Lightning is going to change my mind." I stated this firmly, not backing down from Serah before I strode off. I could tell that most people wouldn't be able to stand against Serah when she got to that point, but I was used to standing up against people that most wouldn't.

I was determined to save Lightning and I won't let anyone stop me. I'm grateful to Serah and Noel for pointing me in the right direction, but if they didn't want my help then I'll keep doing what I'm doing.

If that meant traveling on my own then so be it.

~~~~~~~~ Serah POV ~~~~~~~~~~

As Noel and I watched Cloud walk off, I couldn't help but pout slightly. I didn't mean to make up upset with us. I was just worried. I look to Noel for some help or support but he was just starting towards Cloud. Eventually there was a sigh and Noel had scratched the back of his head.

"Well, guess all we can do is let him come with us," Noel finally said as he started walking again. I followed closely behind as he continued. "You heard him. If Lightning really doesn't want him to tag along then she has to tell him herself."

I had to agree on that one. Well sis, I tried.

"Kupo kupo?" I heard Mog say as he floated up beside me. He had chosen to stay quiet when me and Noel were talking. Usually he didn't have much to say besides the friendly kupo, but I felt like he knew something and just didn't feel like sharing.

We didn't try to catch up to Cloud since we both figured he needed his space and just let him take point for a while. It wasn't like the path wasn't straightforward, if not bumpy. We did have to run sometimes to keep him within our sights but nothing major. After taking a few jumps over some fissures on the ground, I noticed Noel seemed to be thinking.

"Still wondering how Cloud can travel between the timeline with us?" I questioned. We had talked about this before when Cloud had taken point earlier after we left camp. I knew by the way he acted and spoke to Cloud that it had really been bugging him. Noel only nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah. It makes no sense," he said before hopping over one of the creases of the ground and turning a corner to keep Cloud in view. It didn't bother me as much that Cloud could travel through the gates and I chose not to question it, but I didn't see why it was bugging Noel so much. I was actually happy to have a new travel buddy.

"He had prolonged exposure to chaos kupo~" This had surprised me. Mog was telling us something that was important and Noel had stopped in his tracks when he heard that.

"What!" Noel almost yelled. Mog instantly flew to my side and hid behind my shoulder. This seemed to surprise Cloud enough for him to look back towards us and realize we were following him. He hesitated for a moment, gathering his thoughts I guess, before he came back towards us.

"Something wrong?" he questioned sympathetically. I just gave my signature smile and a hands up gesture to smooth out the tense atmosphere. Noel scowled and shook his head as he moved away forward.

"Nothing," he said under his breath as he took point this time. Cloud looked a mix of indifferent and confused, only looking to me for answers. I only shook my head to tell him I couldn't give him any though.

With Noel leading the way, it didn't take us long to get to the ruins of Yaschas Massif where the researchers were studying. That was when we were intercepted by her.

"Welcome home." I couldn't say that I wasn't shocked to see her. I'm pretty sure Noel had been as shocked as I was. In fact, he had been the first to say something.

"How did you…?" That question was running in my head too. Cloud didn't really understand but figured we knew thing girl. He glanced over to me, as if seeking an explanation, though all I could supply was a name out of shock.

"Yeul…" I stated before walking forward, away from Cloud's side and toward's Noel's. Yeul watched me approach her so I continued. "Did you come through the gate, too?"

"The one you met was a different Yeul, a Yeul from the future." She said this so calmly but the statement was so cryptic. I whispered under my breath in my confusion as I turned to Noel, who seemed frustrated instead of confused.

"So, you don't know me, either?" He questioned as he stated intently at Yeul.

Yeul was quick to respond. "I know about you. I've been watching you both, as well as catching glimpses of him." We watched as she motioned her head towards Cloud who had managed to stand next to me without me noticing. He didn't seem concerned with figuring out what was going on, but I could only ask more questions. Maybe she could help me.

"You can see the future, can't you?" I subconsciously started twitting my fingers over each other as I tried to keep calm. Yeul walked past us as she answered.

"I can trace the timeline. I see the future, and lead others along the correct path," of course this only interested me more. So she could tell me about what I needed to do to save Lightning and what I should do about Cloud. She then turned around suddenly and looked directly at me. "I came here to confirm something I already know."

~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~~

Was it weird that I wasn't interested in what they were talking about? I was just mostly confused with the whole thing. I still didn't really get the time travel concept all that well so this definitely wasn't something I was prepared to hear yet.

I did notice that this strange silver haired girl had this strange yellow glow in her eyes, which put me on high guard again. Her appearance couldn't help but remind me of Sephiroth and Jenova, and her silver hair and green eyes didn't help. I tried to deny that this person was related to those two since Serah and Noel seemed to trust her. However, that glow and what she did next did not put me at ease.

The young girl rose her left hand and pointed at Serah, speaking in that monotone voice again. "You and I are the same," she said solemnly. I began to narrow my eyes and reach for my blade at that, but Serah only gave a shallow breath.

"What do you mean?"

"You too can show others the way," the girl said before turning around to walk away. Though Serah didn't seem like she was done questioning her.

"Wait, I don't get it. How are we the same?" Serah questioned desperately as she called out, but it was too late for the girl to hear or respond to Serah at this point. I put my right hand on Serah's shoulder to calm her down. Serah looked up to me and it seemed to have worked as she took a deep breath. I didn't have to say anything; Serah just continued forward and pretended that she was alright again. She did seem to have a goal or destination this time though.

We had walked down and up a few ramps, a few of the yellow and white clad people giving us strange stares as we continued forward. I was reminded of the uniforms of the Turks for some reason, even though they didn't look the same at all. Maybe it was the style. At last Serah stopped but what I saw next, I didn't expect to see.

A man clad in yellow and white again, but he had silver hair… just like that girl. Not only that, when he turned around to face us, I could see his eyes. Just like that girl, bright green.

This was getting more problematic by the minute. I wanted to figure out what was going on. I wanted to know why these people with these key traits were showing up so frequently all of a sudden. I wanted to know if Sephiroth was still alive… and if these people had been clones of his.

I needed answers.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I hate writing these but I thought I needed to say this. Thanks to you few reviewers! I wrote this chapter up as a sort of catching up with the game. I will be following the game's timeline if you're wondering so expect a lot of dialogue and a lot of chapters (and if you haven't played FF13-2 then you should probably do that, but I'll try to walk you through even if you haven't). Also, I have been purposefully skipping fight/battle scenes because I'm not as great at those and felt it might get boring if I tried. Leave a suggestion on whether you want them or not and I'll incorporate your input into future chapters.**

**All suggestions are welcome. I know I'm not the best writer but I'm trying! Remember to read and review!**

~~~~~~~~ Serah POV ~~~~~~~~~~

This was where we had run into Hope. Both him and the girl we knew as Alyssa had their backs turned to us, looking at something on the table intensely. Our footsteps must have alerted him to our presence because Hope had turned to us quickly when he realized we were approaching. I watched as his bright green eyes widened in surprise before settling into a relieved look.

He greeted us as if he hadn't seen us in ages, which I guess technically he hadn't. Even though we had already met hope in another time, since we fixed the paradox things seemed to have gone back to normal for this area. At least, I hope so. Because of that though, Hope didn't remember seeing us.

"It's been awhile Serah," he was warm in his approach, doing well in hiding his shock in seeing me. I could only smile back as I almost skipped up to him. Noel, who had his arms folded, just watched until Hope turned to him. "And you, must be Noel."

"No… it can't be," I barely managed to hear Cloud whisper that which caused me to turn my head towards him. That was when I saw that his eyes were widened and that he seemed disturbed. I worried there for a minute but then decided it would be easier to just introduce Hope. Hope didn't seem to understand who Cloud was either and that was clear in his confused look.

"Cloud, this is Hope. He's an old friend of me and Lightning. Hope, Cloud is a friend of me and Lightning from when we were kids." Hope seemed to accept this faster than Cloud did. Though Cloud still had a dark look in his eye, he didn't do anything else but walk up and stand next to Noel. I bit my lip slightly as I watched the blond scowl so I moved on to our other friend. "And this is Alyssa. We met back in a different time." Alyssa did a small wave but got no reaction more than an unnoticeable nod from Cloud.

Hope's expression began to lighten up as I looked back at him. He had reached out to grab my hands desperately, and since he had done this before in the other time I wasn't as surprised. "To be honest, I didn't really believe that time travel was possible. But here you are." He looked into my eyes and I could see his anxious expression again, as if it was déjà vu… or worse. "I'm really glad you're safe. For me, it's as if time has stopped. Everyone I knew is gone"

After that I had caught him up on what happened. That we had already met before in a different time and his memories had changed because of a paradox. That I was the only one that remembered Lightning's smile on Gran Pulse. How Snow set out to try to rescue Lightning, Vanille, and Fang. And about Noel from the future and Cloud from my past. Hope listened wordlessly as I told him like I knew he would and he believed everything without question. And then…

"I have something I want to show you," Hope said suddenly as he thrusted his right arm back towards the green sphere on the table. Both Noel and I knew this was an Oracle Drive, capable of storing visions of the future by the seeress. We encountered it before after all. Cloud watched blankly as an image formed behind us in the sky and I knew I had to explain this to him later, but all I had been interested in now was watching what the Oracle Drive contained.

There was a clear picture this time and it was exactly the same as in my dreams before. Lighting was riding a large white horse in that exact same armor, fighting some huge battle against some strange man that I now knew as Caius. I barely noticed myself breath out "It is Lightning."

It was then that I had heard Cloud whisper what I thought was "Wow" under his breath. I had to remember that this would be the first time he saw Lightning in over at least 15… 20 years? Of course he'd be surprised, more than any of us. But then something broke his mystified trance as he jolted up straight as he continued watching, which led me back to the image above.

"This is a recording of the future. We're unable to identify the location or the circumstances," Hope explained as we all watched the image in the sky. I vaguely paid attention as I watch the now new image. There had been another man fighting with Lightning, or at least I think it was a man. The figure had long silver hair and a long thin sword that almost made Cloud's sword seem normal. Every time Caius would make a strike at Lightning, this man was either supporting or defending her. I wasn't sure whether I should be at ease or not because of this though.

I don't remember him being in my dream before.

"There is one thing we are sure about, however. And remember, we don't know what era this is. Lightning is alive in that place." This was where the images had stopped and we had all turned to Hope, now fully listening to him. At least, I was anyway. "In my memory, Lightning disappeared after the battle with Orphan. But she's living somewhere in the future." He seemed confident and full of hope after that, and the same effect happened with me too.

"So it's not just a dream, is it?" I asked eagerly, even though I was sure I already knew the answer.

"She's out there." Hope confirmed.

"Then I'm going to find her," I said happily. I was still vexed at the change in my dream with the new silver haired man but at least now I know Lightning really is still alive and that I wasn't falsely guiding Cloud. I really could see her again and Cloud could too. Mog seemed to agree, giving several nods of approval and kupos as emphasis.

~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~~

"And you will find her, Serah. After all, you traveled through time and found me," Hope assured with a satisfied sigh. I stopped myself from ruining this sentimental moment between this Hope guy and Serah. I could have easily said the same with me but she already got the picture.

So I averted my gaze away from the group to look out into space so I could gather my thoughts. That image of Claire… she had been more beautiful than I could have imagined. She still had that same hairstyle but she carried herself in a way that was… well powerful. Plus her elegance in battle and her mastery over her weapon had me awestruck. I knew that Claire was something but I guess I just had to see what she was capable of in the here and now, even if it was in Valhalla.

But then there was Sephiroth. Sephiroth had been with Claire in Valhalla. That meant that he was still alive somewhere and I'll be damned if I let Sephiroth harm Claire like he has countless others. I could imagine him laughing as he betrays those that put his trust in him and I did not want to see that happen again. It only spurred on my desire to find her and protect her from him. Even if he had helped her, I still didn't trust him and Lightning had no reason to either.

I clenched my hands into tight fists to prevent myself from showing any anger on my face. I heard Hope still talking to Serah and Noel, but I noticed the other girl wander away and start examining the strange machine Hope activated earlier. I couldn't help but wonder about it too. I knew Serah would explain it to me eventually and that I just needed to be patient, but it was hard to be when both Lightning and Sephiroth were involved.

As for that Alyssa girl herself, I didn't trust her. More so than I didn't trust Hope at least, which was saying something considering how much he looked like Sephiroth. But Hope had been Serah and Lightning's friend for a while it seems, even if he looked like a spawn of Sephiroth. He had done nothing but help so I had no reason to suspect him other than his appearance. Plus his aura didn't seem all that imposing or remotely identical to Sephiroth. This Alyssa though, I simply just had a bad feeling from her. Like something was completely off about her.

Then something Hope was saying caught my attention.

"It's clear to me now we are not the only ones who are intervening in history. The past has already been changed." I forced myself to start paying attention to their conversation. Could it be that Sephiroth was behind all of this and changed the past to mess with the future? It would make sense that if I could travel through time then he could too. I couldn't underestimate him. I knew better than that. "Serah, you are the only one who remembers a time when Lightning survived the fall of Cocoon…"

Before I could question this, a bright light showed behind Hope and Alyssa called for the Director's attention. Suddenly I felt a twist in my stomach, as if I should have done something when I had the chance.

More images flashed before us as we turned to view the newfound footage. The monsters were running rampant but seemingly guided under a single force. Claire rode forward towards us on that horse with Sephiroth running behind her. The focus then moved to the other man. Crystals started crumbling… and a large sphere that reminded me of meteor hit the ground, destroying a large amount of land.

And the one controlling it did not look like it was not Sephiroth… but this other man.

I couldn't believe it. Another incident such as Meteor and Sephiroth wasn't behind it? I wasn't sure what to think between Sephiroth and this new guy. Noel had then conveniently spoken a new name though.

"Caius!" He spoke softly, making me think that he had some sort of connection with him. However, Serah seemed to know about this man too so I just assumed they met sometime before they met me. It didn't matter. An enemy of Claire is an enemy of mine.

"What happened? Did the prophecy get rewritten?" the blonde name Alyssa asked. She was subsequently followed by Hope in an answer.

"Not necessarily rewritten. It could be the original prophecy, restored as it once was." Hope made a thinking pose, putting his hand to his chin with the other supporting his elbow. Alyssa had done the same thing. I stopped myself from feeling annoyed at this mimic of actions.

I felt the need to interject at this point. "If this is true, then countless people will die." All eyes fell on me at that point, as if they had just realized that I was still there. I stood there calmly, unfazed by their stares until they moved on. Maybe I didn't know the specifics but I wasn't an idiot.

"If this is showing us the future, then someday Cocoon will fall." That's a new one. Cocoon? Wasn't that the place where Claire and Serah lived? Serah then shot past me to confront Noel, forcing me to take a step back as to not get run over. "Noel, you told me in your time, Cocoon didn't exist like it does now."

I looked over to Noel interrogatively, though Noel had been staring at the now long disappeared image in the sky. "Yeah. It came to ground long before I was born," he admitted before turning to face us. Then as if remembering a painful memory, he turned away again and continued. "After it happened, the whole world just fell apart pretty much."

Serah clutched her hands together as she looked down as well, trying to figure it all out I guess. "But who made it fall? Could it have been Caius?" she asked looking back up at Noel hesitantly.

"No." Noel had turned back and confidently defended Caius, even though based on what we had seen, it was our best lead. "He couldn't do that." So Noel did have some connection to Caius then. He wouldn't defend him like that otherwise.

I was about to interject again by suggesting Sephiroth, it was something he was likely to do after all, until that Alyssa girl interrupted again and barged in between the three of us. I held my tongue as I listened to the desperate girl. "When is Cocoon supposed to fall? How many years? Is it soon?" this was followed by a clasp of her hands framing her face as if to look innocent. I couldn't help but feel a twitch in my annoyance.

"No. Not for a couple of centuries," Noel said reluctantly as he looked to Alyssa. She seemed to sigh in relief as well as bow her head which made me question her. Just because it will happen a long time down the road it didn't concern her?

"Oh, that's a long time from now." She rose her head up and began walking away with her arms crossed. "I mean, none of us'll even be alive to see it." That confirmed my suspicions. Maybe she's only worried about saving her own hide. Before I could question her though, Serah intervened.

"But others will," Serah began which received a huff from Alyssa. I couldn't lie; the girl had begun to wear on my patience. Had she really been a friend of Serah's? Serah didn't seem to notice so she continued, "Cocoon will fall into Gran Pulse. Imagine the catastrophe. Think how many lives will be destroyed." Her voice was filled with concern, fitting for someone with such a big heart. She had looked to both me and Noel as well, though Noel simply looked distant.

"Right. That's the future I lived in," he said. I could hear his voice filled with sadness. I couldn't help but think back and imagine what it would have been like if Meteor had hit. I suddenly started to understand a bit more about Noel.

"It doesn't have to happen. Noel, we can change the future. We can stop Cocoon from falling, and make your world a better place." Serah persisted. I could only nod in agreement. But then came Alyssa.

"Yeah, but how? You think you can go to the time when it falls and hold it up yourselves?" I scowled at her, but she just continued. "Do you even have a gate to take you there?"

"All we have to do is stop whatever is causing it now. As long as there is something we can do, then there is always a reason to try," I lectured stoically as I leaned onto the railing behind me. Hope seemed to agree with me on that and chimed in.

"The future depends on what we do now, right? Yes, there is a chance Cocoon will fall, but we can start working now to prevent it from happening." I nodded in agreement. It seems this Hope guy isn't as bad as I thought. He understood where I was coming from at least.

"But what if you can't Hope?" Noel questioned skeptically. He might have been right to be skeptical. I'd probably be the same way if I was in this situation a year or so ago. But I knew there would always be hope. Even if I didn't have an answer for him.

Hope did though. "We can at least work to mitigate the damage. If we begin our research now, we have time. Then, should Cocoon indeed fall, we can protect the planet and save the victims." I nodded in approval. This was a plan I could support. Not only would we be saving millions, we could give people a brighter future.

"Sounds like a plan," I stated as I stood straight again, readjusting the sword on my back and looking to Noel. He relegated himself to believe in this plan and gave a nod.

"Okay, let's do it. We can try to solve things at the other end, in the future…. While you start preparing in the here and now," Noel agreed as he looked between all of us. The Mog gave a happy Kupo at our arrangement. We said our goodbyes and as we were about to set off, I had noticed Alyssa moved away from us out of the corner of my eye who seemed to be thinking.

But I'm not going to worry about that now when I have more pressing matters with Serah and Noel ahead of me in the Time Gate.


	9. Chapter 9

~~~~~~~~ Lightning POV ~~~~~~~~~~

"Hope dreamed of changing the past, the weight of history drove him forward. But now, he's turning to face the future, a future more frightening then the past. Serah, do you believe, too? Do you believe in your past?"

I exhaled a heavy sigh as I stood back up from my kneeling position, my eyes glued to the crystal throne before me. I can't believe Cloud is being so stubborn. Now that he's seen my figure in that Oracle Drive, he seems more determined than ever. I need to think of another way to send him back to his time.

Better yet, I can't believe Serah is letting him continue onward. I guess I can't really blame her for believing in the past that she remembers… The past that we had with Cloud as children and the past where I survived the fall of Cocoon. Hm, she is my sister after all.

"Something on your mind Warrior of Valhalla?" I turned to the voice that spoke to me and saw the streak of silver hair that belonged to the man nearby. The man named Sephiroth had been standing by himself at the large balcony for quite some time now but he somehow made it over to me without me realizing it. It felt strange hearing this man's voice talk to me from outside the battlefield. He usually kept to himself.

"Nothing that concerns you," I spat as I turned to walk the other direction. It did not take long for me to be stopped by a force holding onto my shoulder guard. I stopped myself from glaring over my shoulder as I turned my head to make eye contact with the green eyes man. There seemed to be a look of concern on his face as I shrugged of his hand.

"Lightning, we've been fighting for a long time together. Do you think I can't tell when there is something on your mind?" That question struck a bit of surprise in me as I turned my body to face him. I'm sure the usual scowl appeared on my face since Sephiroth took a step backwards and crossed his arms. "Is it about your sister?"

"No its not," I said this more calmly now. I knew better than to say Cloud's name in front of this man though. With their history, that would only cause more of a problem for the timeline. I had to think of something quick. "It's about you. You never told me how you ended up here."

The silver haired man looked stunned then amused. "Is that all? I just woke up and found this place. You seemed like you could use the help." This voice had been cool as if he were explaining this to a kid. He must have realized this as my scowl deepened in intensity. "However, I know that was not what you were thinking. Don't lie to me."

I glared at him as I was getting annoyed by his words, before turning back around and staring off into the distance of Valhalla. I heard this smug sound hm coming from him which did not make me much happier. Thinking about it, maybe I can ask him for help about what to do about Cloud without telling him it's about him. It's about all I could do now at the point. "Just think about ways I can deal with a stubborn idiot."

"Like you?" I bit my tongue to keep myself from shouting at him. That wouldn't have solved anything but hearing him chuckle at himself for the joke didn't help. "Did you see something change in the timeline again?"

Excuse, come to me. "I'm trying to convince an old friend to do something to help fix the timeline a bit." Yeah, that's accurate. "No matter what sign I give him, he still doesn't get the message." I stopped myself from cringing a bit after I realized I said him. That didn't mean Sephiroth would figure it out I guess, but it gave a hint that I didn't want to share. He just stared at me for a few seconds with his piercing green eyes, as if analyzing me to see if I had been telling the truth.

"Well, idiots cannot deny the truth when it is told directly to their face by someone they trust. No matter how stupid, as long as there is a good explanation and they trust you, they will not ignore you." Huh. That actually was not a bad piece of advice. Sephiroth seemed to be recalling a memory as he told me this, but I didn't think it would be wise for me to dig deeper into it. If I tried, he'd probably question me as well and I didn't care to enlighten him on anything about what was going on.

"Hm, I suppose that is as good a plan as any." I stated this reluctantly and turned back towards the throne. If I had been the purpose of him starting his journey then I had to be the one to tell him to go back and give up. If anything, that would at least cause him some comfort in seeing me one last time. I had to use a lot of my power to do it but so be it. I couldn't risk messing up the timeline any further.

"Warrior of Valhalla, I have a question for you." I stood there dazed for a moment at what Sephiroth said before I glanced back over my shoulder to acknowledge him. The silver haired man seemed to understand this gesture and proceeded. "Would you happen to know the fate of those that died if they are not in Valhalla?"

I was confused at this question. Why would he be asking this? Of course I knew and only gave a nod in affirmation, but it made me curious as to whom he had been concerned for. To my knowledge, in his time he should have already known of the lifestream and believed in it. I am half surprised that he took on the idea of Valhalla so readily.

Sephiroth looked down briefly and then turned his back to me. I flexed my right hand a bit, ready to call upon my Blazefire Saber if necessary. This reminded me a lot of my fight with Caius before so I couldn't take much of a chance. The man spoke calmly though, not sounding as if he were looking for a fight. "Can you tell me what happened to Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos" Though he sounded calm, the subject he was talking about seemed important to him. I was surprised he was able to keep his cool asking about it.

The fate of his friends… there was no reason to keep that a secret from him. I owe him that much I guess. "You know the answer to that. They died long ago and are now in the world beyond this one." That being said, I have no idea why Sephiroth had been here even though he had died long ago as well. Well, technically in my time it would be long ago as time doesn't exist here. Sephiroth remained silent at my response as if waiting for more information. I didn't know what else to say though. "No phoenix down will be able to bring them back."

I heard the clomping of his boots on the temple floor subtly fading as the man started to walk away. Thinking about it that might have been what Sephiroth had gone to do between the battles against Caius while I watched the timeline. It made sense. The fact is though that there is nothing either of us could do to stop the events from back then from happening. Such had not been the will of Etro. If there had been any intervention, Shinra would have made the world of the living a more… well, I will leave that as one of the possibilities of the future that we will not encounter.

When I turned back around to look at him, the silver menace had already disappeared. Almost as if instinctively afterwards, I took my right hand up and stared into my palm as if something fascinating had been there. I was half surprised that he didn't ask about Jenova, but that's a given. It was not a happy subject to bring up. For now, I had to worry on my own goals.

I kneeled on one knee again and closed my eyes. I needed to find the right moment to tell Cloud to give up and hopefully there would be a time Cloud would not be anywhere near Serah or Noel so I could break the news in person. Though I didn't trust Sephiroth to be alone in Valhalla on the lookout for attacks, I didn't have much choice. If not, I could just tell him in a dream but I'm not sure how effective that would be.

Whatever. I just needed to watch the timeline and see if there is where Serah is going next. Knowing the artifact they picked up in the Void, I had a good idea of where they were going next.

~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~~

Gotta say, I didn't expect to end up at some old ruin of a place only to leave right after we found nothing important. For some reason, while I was there, I felt like I was being watched. Gave me the creeps but Noel didn't seem to notice it.

I'm probably hallucinating again.

That wasn't a good sign if that's the case. I shook my head lightly to get the thought out of my head and concentrate on the travels ahead. Serah and Noel were leading the way through the Time Gate thing so I didn't have much to worry abo-

"_That isn't good!" _Oh god what was that voice? I glanced around for the source of the voice, but I already know I wasn't going to find it. I knew who it belonged to. I could feel my eyebrows involuntarily furrow as I frowned upon my realization.

"_Aerith, is that you?" _Of course I asked mentally because I didn't want Serah and Noel to think I had been a complete nutcase on the off chance I had been wrong. There had been a long pause which made me think that I really had gone mental. Then there had been a soft sigh and I could almost imagine the soft smile Aerith always had on her face.

"_Of course it's me. Who else would be talking to you in your head?" _Okay I had to give her that one. I couldn't let her know that so I tried to think of an excuse. At the very least, that meant that I wasn't really going insane. Then again, I could be wrong. _"Dilly Dally Shilly Shally. I'm just here to tell you to not give up hope."_

Not give up hope? Wait… could this have something to do with Lightning! I was getting ready to ask for an explanation until I heard an unexpected yet familiar screaming voice, which caused me to look up and in turn snapped me back into my surroundings.

It was sunny here, but at the same time it was very grassy and full of plant life. Definitely not something I had been used to seeing. It looked like this place had been a perfectly preserved forest and untouched by technology. It's something Aerith would appreciate that's for sure.

I didn't have long to enjoy the scenery because I noticed that Serah had dashed off into the woodland. Noel, who had been watching while I had been in a daze, had now looked over at me with this confused look as if wondering if I knew what was going on or if asking what was wrong with me. Didn't really know what to do in this situation, but I knew that it wasn't smart let a girl run off on her own. "Come on, we have to go after her!"

Wordlessly agreeing with a nod, Noel began running after Serah. I followed closely behind, taking note of how fast Serah had been running. I tried not too much faster than Noel in case he starts suspecting me of something, but I couldn't help but wonder about Serah. I'm not sure what caused her to run off like that but it must have been important.

She ran pretty fast…


	10. Chapter 10

~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~~

The next thing I know is that I ended up having to swat away attacking orange blobs of jelly that jumped in front of us as we followed Serah. It was as if they were trying to get in our way. While it wasn't difficult for me to keep up and escape from each battle unharmed, I could tell Noel was trying to keep up with me. For the most part I did not even have to remove individual blades from the Fusion Sword and when I did it was usually for defense but I did begin to breathe heavily to make Noel ease up. He did slightly but I noticed that something was on his mind too. Now that I think about it, he was mumbling something about Serah while we were running too. Is there something I don't know?

After a while I realized that someone else was fighting with us that was not Serah. How did I know that? Well the fact that it was a rough deep voice that kept yelling Serah was a big hint. Granted it was a good distance away, I could tell that they were fighting as well. When Noel and I finished our wave of jelly monsters, we ran up to the ledge that separated us from Serah and the strange new man just as he collapsed into Serah's arms.

"Snow! Is that really you?" I heard Serah ask over the noise of the monsters surrounding them. I swung the Fusion Sword at the ready as I ran forward with Noel towards the two. It was not until now that I realized the size of the huge monster nearby that loomed over us like the Shinra building did in Midgar. For some reason though my attention was more focused on Serah then it was on the monster. The man in her arms seemed to get up immediately only to be hit by a large wack of the blob's arm.

Next thing I know, Noel ran ahead of me with his swords out. I felt my face grimace as I watched Noel jump off the elevation we were on to blast the giant with a spell. A large explosion filled the air as the blob recoiled backwards from the attack. Being part of the group I was obligated to follow suit and jump down after him and Serah. The rush of falling didn't bother me all that much as admittedly I was used to it, but the gooey arm coming to attack me did force me to bring the Fusion Sword in front of me and take a slash at it. To my surprise I only managed to cut the monster a bit instead of cutting off the entire arm. I'm just used to dealing with everything in one fell swoop.

I landed on my feet and rushed past Serah and the man named Snow after Noel, only to have to jump back because of the blob's next attack. Noel dodged too and wasn't harmed at all but he looked ready to jump into battle. It seemed like a crazy notion to me. The monster didn't even seem fazed from when I sliced its other arm…. Wait. It doesn't look like that arm took any damage at all. Did it reform itself?

"I'll give you a hand!" I heard the large man say behind us as he jogged up to help. I glanced over my shoulder to see him only to see that Noel held up an arm holding a sword to stop him.

"No! I'll hold it off, you just get out of here!" Noel is beginning to sound like me a year ago as much as I hate to admit it. I understood where he was coming from, even if that stance now is stupid. There was no way that Noel could take on the monster itself, especially if it could just reform itself afterwards like I think it can. I don't deny that I probably would have said the same thing a year ago, but now I know that I shouldn't try to take on everything myself.

"Are you serious?" I questioned sternly as I looked to Noel. He seemed to ignore me though as the man named Snow brushed Noel off.

"Hey, are you kidding? With Serah watching? I don't think so." Seriously? He was worried about how he looked to Serah? Who exactly is this guy? His ego seems bigger than Reno's. Serah walked up behind Snow, standing between him and me with Mog floating over her shoulder. Noel scowled almost as much as when I first met him and Serah at the bar.

"Let's hurry then," I told them as my eyes refocused themselves on the monstrosity in front of me. Noel seemed reluctant but was clearly outnumbered, so he just turned and raised his swords for battle. Snow rose his fists, reminding me of Tifa when we used to fight together with everyone, and Serah grabbed mog who transformed into her bow. Yeah, it took me awhile to get used to that but I still don't understand it.

~~~~~~~~ Lightning POV ~~~~~~~~~~

"Each reunion is a twist of the knife. The joy is ephemeral; it leaves fear in its wake. A fear that all too soon the time will come when we must bid farewell again." I bit my bottom lip. This fact is something I've learned after becoming the Warrior for Etro. Every time I think about it now though, I worry about if I would actually be able to say goodbye to Cloud after I saw him. Saying goodbye to him face to face, knowing that I could no longer see him again. To not be able share any time together. About if I had enough willpower to do it instead of abandoning my duties in Valhalla and risking the fate of the world and the pollution of the timeline.

"Something wrong?" I scowled at the sound of the voice. I turned around to see the sight of the long haired man with an unusual look on his face. It was a look resembling sincerity or some sort. It surprised me and I raised an eyebrow at it though I kept the scowl. The man stopped a few feet away from me before taking on a questioning look himself upon seeing mine. "What are you even doing out here near the gate?"

"I… " Etro, why couldn't I think of an excuse. Now I really can't go. I couldn't let Sephiroth know I left and I certainly can't leave Valhalla alone in the hands of Sephiroth. What was he even doing out here anyway?

"Were you going to see someone?" He asked with a hint of slyness. My eyes narrowed but my heart still gave a wavering flutter from my thoughts from before. I gave a heavy sigh to try to settle my nerves, trying to figure out what to do or say now.

"My sister. She needs my help," I blurted out. I cared about her too but taking care of Cloud was more important at the moment.

"I thought you trusted her with fixing the timeline." Sephiroth's voice seemed more serious now which earned him a halfhearted glance from me. I folded my arms across my chest as I tried to retort, but found that I couldn't. There was this awkward silence between us as I tried to think of something, but eventually Sephiroth spoke first. "You know, she'll be okay but if you need to see her then you should go. I can stay here and protect Valhalla until you return."

I froze for a minute as I tried to process this, glancing away into the empty distance as I did. I knew there was no way I could leave Valhalla now. Sephiroth could be up to something. That and… I don't think I'm ready. "I should… yet you cannot help but long for the next encounter." I sighed heavily and took a few steps away from Sephiroth around the gate. "Humanity's great frailty… We prefer past happiness to future uncertainty." Though I was supposed to be thinking about Serah, in my heart I knew I was referring to Cloud. I have no idea what would happen if I did confront Cloud and some small part of me was scared to face it. "I can't do it… not now."

There was another moment of silence before I heard the tapping of heavy shoes on the ground. Sephiroth walked over to my side and placed his arm around my shoulder. I didn't have the energy to shrug him off or even give him my usual glare. He guided me away from the time gate back towards the road back to Etro's throne room. And for some reason, I was able to take comfort in his words for once. "I understand."

~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~~

"This Jelly Bean is ticking me off!" I heard Noel yell in frustration as he jumped back after his last attack. I have to admit that I was starting to get a bit tired myself. Luckily it seemed that this… jelly bean is getting weaker too. I took a second to catch my breath which was when Snow ran up and yelled out to rally us.

"Come on, all together!" He said earnestly to us all. This still reminded me of Tifa as she would always talk about togetherness as a family and such. Plus the way he fought with his fists reminded me of Tifa too. If I didn't know better then – "Now!"

"With ya!" Noel ran forward towards Snow, jumping up only to have Snow punch the bottom of his shoe to give him momentum to soar upward to go face to face with the giant monster. He sent a barrage of fira blasts into the monster's mouth as Snow charged forward to punch the base of the monster to send it skyward as well. Serah took a few step backwards to let them do their thing but I knew I couldn't stand back and let them show me up.

As Noel was flipping backwards back down to the ground I jumped up with my Fusion Blade in hand, swirling the handle in my hand before gripping it tightly and activating the switch on the guard. The six blades of the sword separated out around me, allowing me to perform a series of swift motion slashes with each of the six bladed parts of the fusion sword, making the monster stay in the air for a longer period of time. As I did the final slash of what I called Omnislash I felt some form of relief. Admittedly I haven't done this move since my battle with-

"_I will… never be a memory."_

I felt my eyes widen at those words, my grip on the hilt weakening as I watched each of the blades around me fall to the ground. I probably would have landed face first into the ground if not for Serah's Arrow soaring past me into the gooey body of the beast snapping me out of it. I dove down and flipped my body forward so I could land on my feet, catching the last and largest of my swords in midair. I heard a large explosion from behind me in which I assumed to be the arrow from before, causing me to turn around and stare at the bright fiery wonder in the air. But I still couldn't get my mind away from before.

Sephiroth. He's alive. I knew it. But why? Why now of all times would I hear him tormenting me again? I have to pull myself back together. Can't let Noel or Serah see me like this. Then again, I think they were all paying more attention to Snow and the monster then me as I went to grab the rest of my swords to reassemble back into the fusion blade.

What was going on?


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey Guys! Sorry it took me so long to update. Life things came up. I hope this chapter came out well. It's a bit longer than the other ones because I know you guys had to wait so yeah, here it is! I swear I'll hurry and update with the next chapter soon.**

~~~~~~~~ Serah POV ~~~~~~~~~~

It was raining Flan! There was no way that we could keep fighting this thing. Nothing we do is really affecting it! My breath was caught in my throat, my muscles tensing in fear. I could only stare at it as it was reforming back into the large mass that was the kingflan.

"Let's go!" a familiar voice screamed, my eyes managing to rip away from the flan towards the source. Noel had the right idea, we had to run.

"Yeah! We'll hit it hard while it's down and-" Really Snow? You never change. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. To think I spent all that time worrying about him. Stupid me. Guess I'll never learn. I resisted the urge to chuckle at this, which wasn't hard considering I was staring down a giant flan that was about to attack us again.

"Enough, we have to retreat or else this will have all been for nothing." My eyes jolted over to where Cloud stood, his swords now reforming back to the huge sword from earlier. While I was still in shock over his attack from before, I couldn't deny he was right. Noel and Cloud gave each other an understanding glance as Noel began to run down the clear path near the crystal pillar. Cloud approached me and motioned for me to come follow him. Part of me was reminded of Lightning because of that. She was always overprotective of me and making sure I was okay.

Whatever the case I understood and nodded before I looked to my right towards Snow, grabbing his wrist to catch his attention. He looked down at me for a moment to which I would smile and talk to him. "Come on, Snow. Let's go!" I said chirpily as I ran to the side with a tight grip on his wrist. He seemed to fumble as I pulled him and resisted at first but eventually he gave in and ran with me. He still was calling for my name rebelliously though. I swear, he's like one of my kids at New Bodhum, but he's so sweet. He is my Snow after all!

I also heard a few grunts from behind us which I assumed came from Cloud. The sound of a few splats after that made me assume that he was warding off some of the attacking flan that were after us. When I looked back though, Cloud was always running right behind us without looking tired at all. Honestly if it wasn't for all the sounds I would have never guessed that Cloud was fighting. It was actually amazing. Cloud seemed to have noticed my glances though as his expression got even more serious if that was possible.

"Keep running," Cloud told us sternly every time I looked back to him. Though I always complied and turned back to where I was running, I couldn't help but wonder where Cloud gets all his energy from.

Once we were clear, we slowed down to catch our breath. Well, at least I did. Snow and Noel seemed completely fine from that as they just looked back at Cloud and the giant flan before Noel turned to Snow. He started pointing at him as if lecturing a kid. "Listen. Hotheads who can't back down don't last long on this planet." That definitely wasn't going to be good. Why is Noel always so hostile to guys?

Snow just chuckled and turned away, not seeming to get it. I knew Snow so I wasn't surprised. I could tell Cloud was just keeping out of this as he just stared between them and me. I didn't know what to tell him really. This is the first time Noel and Snow have met, much less talk. I gave Cloud a small smile to reassure him that everything between them was fine. I'm not too sure how effective that was though.

"Maybe. But sometimes, you've gotta make a stand." Snow said confidently as he paced around a bit, causing me to turn my attention towards him.

"To what end?" My eyes widened as I turned to Cloud. I didn't expect him to get involved and say anything. I mean I could tell that Cloud wanted to say something but he seemed to be the type to just stay silent. He was just staring between the other guys before. Both Noel and Snow turned to face Cloud at this point and then there was this awkward staring contest between the three. "Sometimes you need to learn how to pick your own battles." I just backed away.

Still I had to think about what Cloud said. It sounded like he had some bad experiences in his past when he got too involved in things. Like he still had some doubts in his mind about something. I wanted to go over there and hug him, tell him everything will be alright, but I stayed by Snow's side. I don't even know why. Maybe deep down I knew that wasn't going to help him and I wasn't sure how to help him with that at all.

"You got a name?" Snow questioned abruptly, motioning towards Cloud in an offhanded manner. Cloud just kept his normal nonchalant look on face as he unfolded his arms to answer.

"Cloud." He said sagely. Cloud then took a glance at Noel who just looked away and began to pace impatiently. Snow smirked a bit and I could see his muscles relax a bit.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes? You look just like Lightning." I saw Cloud's eyes widen at the words of Lightning's name. To be honest, I felt my own eyes widen in surprise when Snow mentioned her. I mean sure I guess he could have just thought back on how she was, but there was some hope that he actually saw her lately. "At least your face does. Thanks for the help." Then again, I might just be overreacting. Snow didn't understand that we were all looking at him expectantly after that as he turned to motion to Noel. "And who are you?"

Noel looked over but didn't seem like he was interested in responding. In an effort to fix everything and make it non hostile, I took a step forward so that all the attention would move to me. It worked which surprised me for some reason but I was able to speak, motioning my left hand to Noel. "This is Noel. All three of us have been traveling together," I explained to Snow. Then I turned to the other two with a smile, clinging up next to Snow's side again.

"And this is Snow! We're getting married," I said happily. Just the thought of being married to Snow and being with him got me all giddy. It sort of made me forget about the situation we were in. In my glee I caught a strange look strike across Cloud's face as he looked over Snow then to Noel. Noel seemed to get a miffed look as he looked back to Cloud then to me and Snow. I was getting sort of confused as to what was going on between them, but at least this meant they were getting along.

"It's on hold for now," Snow announced boldly, almost shamelessly. I couldn't help but look over to him in shock as it all came rushing back to me. I couldn't help but look down after that as it sank in, affirming to myself that it was true even though I did not want to. Not only did he sound strangely assertive when saying that, it reminded me of the day he left when he gave me his engagement necklace. It was all depressing to remember but I tried to perk up so the other guys didn't think badly of Snow because of it. Apparently it didn't work well with Noel who had his back turned to us.

"You know, somehow I didn't expect you to be such a hothead. All I hear about is what a great guy Snow is. And look where you are, all the way in the future." Noel said this with a bit of a sarcastic undertone, looking away with his arm outstretched in an offhanded way. Cloud had held his arm out to keep Noel at bay as a sign not to further antagonize the situation. Maybe he thought that Noel would further provoke Snow unnecessarily or something, not that Snow was difficult to anger, but either way I was glad that Cloud was intervening even if I didn't show it.

"I'm sorry, who's the hothead? What were you two thinkin' bringing Serah out here?" Snow roared, making me flinch backwards and let go of his arm in the process. I never liked it when Snow got angry but I learned to accept and deal with it. After all, Lightning also had a habit at snapping at me when I did stuff wrong. Actually, I did too when I got angry at the kids. Jeez, what's wrong with my family?

I was going to say something. Explain everything to Snow so that he could understand and get along better with Noel, but Cloud intervened. "It was her choice." It was a new experience but I could tell he was speaking with a great deal of wisdom. Made me wonder how much he's been through. "We're here to find Lightning but why are you here?"

Snow looked away from us and took a few steps as if gathering his thoughts. Noel was the one that followed up on what Cloud said though. Never thought I'd see the day so soon.

"What he said. Why did you up and leave Serah? What are you doing, fighting here in the future?" Noel said this and I had to admit that I wondered that too. If Snow was here in the future not looking much older from what I remember then he could have traveled through time… somehow…. Right? Then again-

"You really want to know?"

Noel scoffed at this and stared down Snow. "I asked, didn't I?" I looked over to Cloud to see if he had anything to say but he was looking pretty distant as always and only nodded once. I barely even caught it. Snow had sighed but I knew he was going to answer. He wasn't the type of person to hide anything.

"Lightning appeared in my dreams, too. Can you believe it?" I could feel my eyes widen in disbelief and without thinking I took a step forward and spoke.

"You saw Lightning?" I asked though I already knew the answer. Snow wasn't the type of person to lie. It's just not how he was. But if Lightning appeared in his dreams too then…

Snow didn't seem to have heard me. Brushed off my question by continuing what he was saying and I listened to every word. "She told me to come here and that I had to protect Cocoon so I started jumping through time, checking things out." He made traveling through time sound so casual. Then again who am I to talk? "I learned that the giant jelly bean back there knocks Cocoon down."

"You mean the giant flan back there?" Noel asked, sounding disbelieving. When Snow affirmed it Noel looked away towards the flan then back to Snow. "According to stories I heard, back in my own time, Cocoon was brought down by war. It doesn't add up." It sounded as if Noel was trying to throw that fact in Snow's face, as if saying he's wrong.

"It could. That doesn't mean that is the only reason. That could have just been the aftermath." Cloud stated with a thoughtful look on his face. Snow looked away then back at the direction of the crystal pillar to continue.

"Did'ya see what those flan were doin', that flan? It's melting away the base of the pillar bit by bit." Cloud interrupted and finished Snow's thoughts.

"Ultimately causing the base to wear away and unable to support the large mass above it. People might notice too late and by then will cause panic. When people panic they start fighting each other for survival, not knowing how to handle their new situation otherwise." Cloud paused and it let me take in what he said. It felt as if he had firsthand experience with this and this wasn't the first time I felt like he had either. "If what you're saying is true, it could end everything. Many will die and many more will suffer."

I couldn't believe it. By that logic… "But Vanille and Fang, they're inside it." Somehow that slipped but I was worried about the future too.

Cloud seemed confused by that but accepted it without much question. Maybe he was used to being confused with all this time travel stuff. "That must mean that Lightning wanted Snow to save those two as well as the future that Noel comes from." What Cloud said somehow assured me a little.

"Sounds like you know what you're talking about Cloud," Snow said this with a smile, complimenting him I think. Cloud looked over to him but didn't really say anything . Guess he's just as antisocial as Lightning. Couldn't help but smile at that one even though I knew how bad our situation is now. "Anyway sometimes you've got to make a stand. I don't have a choice. My mission is to stop that thing for good."

"Figures," Cloud said as he turned to look at the flan again. He also mumbled something under his breath but I couldn't hear what he was saying at all.

Noel shook his head and turned to us. "None of this makes sense. There are thousands of flans appearing out of nowhere and they're fusing and creating a beast that shouldn't exist."

Wait, shouldn't exist? My eyes widened and I clasped my hands together in realization. "Could it be a paradox?"

"Sounds like the convenient answer." Cloud said and I had to admit that was true. So far all of our problems have turned out to be time paradoxes. Each one of them we had to fix one way or another. Even Atlus. It couldn't be a coincidence could it?

Noel walked towards me and raised a finger as if I was on to something. "If it is, we'll need to do some traveling to fix it." It was then I looked over to Snow to see if he understood. Since this was the first time in a while that I have seen him, I didn't want to leave him so soon.

Cloud spoke up quickly. "So we need to collect another artefact somewhere." He's right which means that we'd have to take Snow with us. He has been here defending the pillar all this time. He'd know the Waterscape better than any of us so he might know where it was. Cloud walked over to join us now and I smiled, though his expression didn't change from its normal serious look. "And if it isn't?"

"Then we beat it down again!" Snow said boldly with a fist pump. I could tell the other two weren't too optimistic by Snow's enthusiasm but Snow is Snow.

"Any ideas where to start first?" Cloud asked Snow who went into this thinking pose.

"I might. Come with me."

As we all followed Snow, I turned my gaze to the sky and began thinking about Lightning again. There were still so many secrets and mysteries left unanswered. Lightning… did you meet Snow in his dreams? Is there a reason why you can only talk to us when we sleep? Well, at least this was a nice change of pace. Snow hasn't changed a bit and being with Snow helped me forget about what the future might hold. Feels good to worry about the simple stuff, you know?

~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~~

I tried staying in the back of the group, not wanting to interfere with this reunion of sorts. I could periodically hear Noel and Snow talking about something or another that didn't have much significance to what was going on now and so I tried my best to stay out of it. Not really my thing I guess. I also heard Snow asking Serah about me but again that's none of my business. I have my own demons to face.

What I am more worried about is Sephiroth. If he is still alive he could be the one behind this flan problem and these time paradoxes somehow. Finish what he started or whatever since Cocoon did look a lot like Meteor. Of course that wouldn't make sense with what I saw of him in that Oracle whatever it's called.

Wait… is he manipulating Claire?

That wouldn't be surprising but that's all the more reason for me to hurry and save her. On top of my problems with Sephiroth, there was Claire. It was said that she was able to visit the dreams of others but if that was the case why hasn't she visited my dreams? Maybe she did not know I was with Serah? It would make sense. Our timelines don't exactly coincide. Still I did want to see and speak to her. Guess I'll have to do it the hard way.

Hey Aerith? You still there?

…

What am I doing? Of course not. If she knew the answers to any of this I'm sure she would have told me by now. It was just another thing on my long list of problems that I need to solve.

"Oh hey! This is where the flan were trying to get to," I heard Serah say excitedly as she pointed upwards. I followed her finger and saw a small group of flan huddled up around this green glowing thing.

"And there's our artefact," Noel stated which allowed me to catch up to where we are at now. So the monsters are guarding the artefact or are attracted to it? Interesting. Well the faster I beat these things the faster we can move on and get to saving Claire right?

My right hand moved back to grab onto the handle of the fusion blade. "I'll handle this." Before anyone else could react I took the opportunity to surge past them and engage the orange blob things. I fought them off before after all and with this I doubt it'll take longer than a minute to finish these things off.


End file.
